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Topic: Bright Tank (Read 2838 times)

I've got a family picnic coming up in August and I'm planning on taking a keg of brew to it. Since my folks place is in PA it's about a three hour car ride so I'd like to try to minimize the amount of sediment in the keg which would get stirred up in transit.

I bought a spare dip tube and I'm thinking I'll cut off a bit of it and use it in the keg I'm going to be lagering the picnic beer in then transfer it to another keg for transport and serving.

How much of the dip tube for the bright tank should I saw off? 2 inches? More? I'm obviously trying to minimize sediment pickup in the transfer while also minimizing beer loss.

If not then cutting back the tube a couple of inches would be my second choice. You can also bring a second full length dip tube along with you to install in an effort to get every last drop of goodness from the bottom of that keg.

Had a keg that HAD to be clear for transport. After three weeks in the bucket I kegged and let it sit at cellar temp for a week, then WITHOUT MOVING IT hooked up CO2, drew the first few ounces into a clear glass, and when clear did a keg to keg, then carbonated. Came out perfect.

I would just blow off a few ounces to get the sediment right around the dip tube, then rack it to another keg for transport. It should work just fine.

This is the correct answer! Don't mutilate your poor keg!

I agree. It's the easiest way to deal with the sediment problem. I used to do it that way pretty frequently.

But for the past few years now, I follow the secondary phase (yeah, I know...I still stubbornly do it that way) with a gelatin cold crash before it goes into a keg, the resulting bright beer goes into the keg bright and stays that way from the first pour right down to the last sad gurgle when it kicks. That, to me, makes the secondary and cold crash phase before going into the keg a very worthwhile bit of extra effort...especially when I know I have to take a keg somewhere or be otherwise moving it around. The little bit of extra work and extra time may not be ideal for everyone, but it works for me. It also makes for very stable, conditioned, and sediment free beer to transfer to bottles too, when the need arises.